


Flash By

by AikoIsari



Series: Odds and Ends (Digimon) [19]
Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Savers | Digimon Data Squad, Digimon Tamers, Digimon Xros Wars | Digimon Fusion
Genre: Challenge Response, Drabble Collection, Gen, Snippets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2018-02-11 08:09:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 49
Words: 10,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2060553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AikoIsari/pseuds/AikoIsari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snippets from every series ranging from pairings to character-centric to anything imaginable, all under five hundred words. Happy Odaiba Day!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. For Honor

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, remember Memorial Day? Well, I'm doing it again. Except this is for a challenge and the prompts come in at random. Even I don't know what's coming up. So this story might go dark when I lack prompts but for now I have seventeen, and ten are ready. Let's see what happens. For anybody who didn't read Memorial Day, this is all seasons, all games, all mangas, pretty much anything with a T rating goes! Any character and any pairing, even if I don't know it! Here we go! Read and review please! or just enjoy!
> 
> Today's prompt is: 340 - prompt: "Let me go, let me at 'er!" Angewomon

1\. For Honor!

It was inevitable. Every time they saw each other, Holy or Darkness, both of them were hellbent on killing each other.

Ever since evolving to Tailmon, it had just been one of those unbearable urges to rip through any Nightmare Soldier in sight. It wasn't an easy urge to tame while working under Vamdemon, especially when one of them happened to be working right next to you and muttering like an obstinate Flymon's wings buzzed. She was half-certain the feeling had been mutual all around, but what could any of those rats do? She could take them in a fight, beat them too. Had done it more than once. PicoDevimon lived only because he skirted around and she couldn't make up a good enough excuse.

Especially this little...  _counterpart_.

Crude, ineffective... with the  _ugliest_ nails...

She couldn't  _wait_  to kill her. And that was incredibly rare for her to think. Usually it was just something that she did out of obligation.

If she was a servant of Piemon, so much the better. It would teach him to hire better help, before he got stabbed in the face.

Her eyes fell on Hikari through the visor and she smiled. Never let it be said that her partner was weak of heart. Cheering her on like it was a festival.

Though what were the boys cringing about?

Oh well, men. They lacked the stomach to do anything useful when it came right down to it.

… Did that witch just  _slap_ her?

Oh, that did it!

Angewomon was going to turn her into pudding.


	2. Window Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [02] There was always a good time for soccer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's story is brought to you by the following: 161 - prompt: spring. Thank you to those enjoying so far. See you all again! Read and review if you can please. :D

No, no, no-

A swift kick from the side sent the ball flying.

Oh, god he saved it.

All right, left, left! Pass!

Man, Daisuke thought with a grin. was it a good day for soccer.

Too bad Takeru didn't play. He was friends with Taichi-san, that meant he ought to know how to kick a ball. And Taichi refused to let his sister play for whatever reason anymore. It was weird!

But Hikari-chan didn't mind, after all, she seemed to really like watching him play. Except now, but the teacher was all boring and made her deal with some printouts.

"Oh come on, Shinya, I was open!" he shouted at his teammate, who just rolled his eyes and passed it again, to someone else.

What kind of teamwork was this?

"Daisuke, the ball! Get the ball!"

He grinned. "I'm on it, I'm on it." Finally. He dove to slide, just like when he got that Ichijouji in the leg and...

Missed.

Oh god damn-

Crash!

He needed to run, now. Because that was the art room.

"Motomiya Daisuke!"

He bolted and the others scattered. Those traitors! If they had just passed it to him like they were supposed to-

"Sir, it wasn't just me!"

"You're first."

"Sensei!"

He hoped their coach benched those guys at practice today.


	3. Prophetic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -[Frontier/01] He could live to change fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's update is brought to you by the following: 817 - character: Baromon. Also it's me checking if alerts are working, as they once went out around now and it was very bizzare. Anyway, enjoy and tell me what you think please.

3\. Prophetic

In the back of his mind, he could remember dying before becoming an Angemon who died again.

This dying thing got a little old. But didn't every Digimon do it?

He remembered billowing red robes and daily prayers towards a god who didn't like to answer most of the time, except with the same cryptic stories everyone knew.

The scriptures were always the same, telling of those of great power and the good and evil they could bring about.

Legends and all of that.

In that old form, Patamon remembered being positive that all of it was true, and having no honest clue what to do about it. The idea of that much strength in any  _one_  Digimon filled him with dread then as it did now as Angemon, let alone ten.

He didn't so much fear it as he did back then. Though even then he had thrown himself in the way to protect the heroes, the future. Because maybe they could get it right.

Back then he had been so big and grand, defying Fate.

Now he was so small, and he was just protecting Takeru. And wasn't that everything, wasn't that the only thing that mattered in the universe to him? His partner and his partner's life?

Takeru would be a hero. Like the Legendary Warriors.

If he remembered them, would he be able to talk about it someday?

But prophets didn't look on the past like a storybook.

That was a librarian's job.

So he guessed not.

He wondered what human storybooks were like. When he hatched again, he would have to ask Takeru.


	4. Egomaniacal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Savers. “And here I thought he couldn't get any uglier.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Today's post was brought to you by the following:067 - prompt: size. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

4\. Egomaniacal

Ikuto, at the time of fighting Belphemon, really didn't like humans very much.

Well, that was an exaggeration. He didn't trust all humans, but he liked some and they were enough until he actually met more than twenty or twenty five that weren't insane or, well, minions of the insane.

Then there was Belphemon.

He was a Demon Lord, and apparently there was someone somewhere that decided that Demon Lords had to finish off being really  _big._

Well, thinking about it, he guessed all powerful Digimon tended towards being a lot bigger than most. Because small Digimon couldn't handle the power? That was discriminatory.

But then it started talking in  _Kurata's voice_.

Ikuto shuddered, half in rage, half in disgust because the man's voice was utterly  _weird_  and it was the voice that he was starting to think of as nothing but evil.

And it was coming from a demon digimon.

A Digimon that Masaru wasn't here to punch and Tohma had let be loosed on the world. Why... no, he couldn't think about why, not when there was so much fighting to still do.

He could be strong, could be brave and good and not make people cry anymore. He  _could._

So he took a deep breath, clutched his Digivice, and said softly. "And here I thought he couldn't get any uglier."

Miki or Megumi giggled, and Yoshino made a snort that was more amusement than concern at what he had said. But she was the one who answered. "I guess we were proven wrong."

"At least we don't have to go looking for him."

Ikuto exhaled and wished his boomerang wasn't simply a very good wood. He wished it had the strength of his soul in it too, like Falcomon did.

Once again, like at the sight of the Gizmon, Ikuto felt very small.

And he had to fight anyway.


	5. Deserted

5\. Deserted

Humans did dirty things for luxury.

Digimon? They just killed.

It was a blessing to have greenery for most of them. Rough earth, hot sun, they lived in a desert, dreaming of flora.

Or they were unlucky, and the streams dropped them in the clouds and killed them too.

Renamon had seen plenty of that, had learned how to avoid it. You learned to rip and tear and grasp your way to life.

She remembered having nothing more than her tail to protect her. The sand threw her like a doll until she had learned to crawl, and then to run... and then to tear.

Grit was survival. Instincts were always sharp.

The flora eventually became more than the other layers of their world.

Renamon, in odd fancy, began dreaming of the big ball in the sky.

The human world.

And all you needed to have was subservience.

She had not smirked as her fellows had at the thought. It was not a horrible idea, contrary to popular belief.


	6. Ongoing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 6\. -[Tamers] She just had to bear it and go on from here. But first, sugar. Post Series.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 674 - prompt: "What's hard is that just one of us will be the last /to bear it all and go on living" Vikram Seth is the prompt for this one. So of course, Tamers! As always, please read and review!

6\. Ongoing

"Ooh, eclairs!"

"I haven't seen someone quite so excited about those for a while," joked Takato's mother, watching Juri stare eagerly at the various baked goods. The girl grinned even brighter if that was possible for someone like Juri, who only winked.

"They are really fluffy," she said by way of explanation. "Despite having lots of cream. I'm getting some sweets for the twins and they didn't know what they wanted except-"

"Something sweet, right?" Mie laughed. "I raise Takato, don't forget."

"Takato has much of a sweet tooth?" Juri absently pointed at a loaf of bread and at some cookies as she spoke, frowning at a croissant (which Mie knew was full of chocolate). "He never has it much around me."

"That's because I swat him any time he sneaks anything away," the woman said, cracking a fond smile and bagging the requested items. Juri counted out coins and bills, humming thoughtfully. "I think Guilmon ate more of it than he did somehow."

"With all of that peanut butter, of course he did," Juri giggled, pushing the money over. "Maybe Culumon beat him out though..." Her voice grows soft and fond and sweet and for a moment, Mie wonders if the girl has let herself cry in the last few months. She had heard Takato trying not to, and it took all of her strength to leave him be. Her son was strong enough to fight one battle, and she couldn't take this one away from him.

"He'll be all right, ma'am," Juri said softly. "He's your son."

Mie chuckled. "I don't think you're the one I want worrying about him," she said with a wink, watching the girl's cheeks turn pink.

"M-Matsuda-san!"

Takato's mother waved a hand. "Go on now and enjoy those sweets, okay?"

Juri couldn't run out fast enough.


	7. Companion

7\. Companion

"Give it back."

"Hmm... no!"

Ren tched. "Bastard."

As far as first meetings went, this was arguably a bad one. Creepy little mask kid holding his hat, him really needing to buy some new god damn headphones. Why had this happened to him?

"Look, kid," he tried, attempting to sound chill because he really just wanted to punch a hole in this guy's creepy ass mask. Where were his eye sockets? "Do you want a gumball or something? Give me my hat and I'll avoid flicking it at your face."

"I want your soul. It seems tasty. Is gum tastier?"

Ren's eyes twitched. "You ain't wrapped tight, are you?"

"Not really!"

His eye twitched again and the strange blue child began sniffing his hat. "Is this edible," it asked. Ren stalked forward and snatched it. "Hey! I stole that!"

"Yeah, from me! Of course I'm gonna steal it back!" Ren huffed, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. "Kid, do I need to take ya back to yer mum?" Sometimes he hated how his voice sounded, about as concerned as a honey badger. It gave him away way too easily..

"I'm pretty sure that my mom's dead!"

Ren raised an eyebrow. "That's kinda morbid."

The masked kid waved his hands and he saw the eyes on his palms blinked. "Is it? I was joking."

Ren pinched his nose. "The mess is wrong with you?"

"I'm hungry," the kid said by way of explanation. "And bored. Can we wreck stuff? And eat?"

Ren glanced at his watch, sighed, and adjusted his hat. "Fine. Just don't make me regret this, whoever you are."

The kid smiled toothily. "I'm Dracmon, and you won't regret anything."

"That is the dumbest name I have ever heard," Ren muttered, but a grin played across his lips. This little bastard could be fun.

Sure enough, he was.


	8. Overrated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [02] It didn't know how to end. -Osamu Pre-Series

8\. Overrated

He tapped his pencil on his lap, head throbbing, eyes starting to cross at the sight of too many equations and not enough answers. He looked up at the clock. Not enough time between his last look. Damn it. He sighed and put his pencil down. A nap would be nice.

His eyes drifted over to his bed, and Osamu tried not to smile. His brother was asleep  _around_ one of his pillows, dreaming of who knew what. Soccer, probably.

He went back to work. He only had ten left. Ten and... then what? English? Physical Science? Another assignment in a sea of them. He sighed and turned a page in his workbook.

Being smart wasn't fun after a while.

"Nii-san, are you still working?"

Ken's voice slurred with sleep. Osamu's chair creaked as he turned to look at him. Purple met purple for a moment and Osamu hesitated, looking at the sunshine outside. He looked back at Ken, who seemed ready to burrow back into the comforter if Osamu said "yes".

Yes was the correct answer.

"Wanna go get some ice cream?"

Ken's face brightened and he nodded, looking instantly alert as he bounded for the door.

Osamu left his chair without a glance at his homework.

Even geniuses deserved ice cream breaks.


	9. Dreamless

9\. Dreamless

Hikari hates the new moon.

She tries to stay awake during it, and without anyone noticing. It's difficult, because still Taichi watches her like a hawk and still looks at her like she's a baby and she's not, she's really not. She's just scared and him watching over her isn't helping her be brave.

She stopped having a nightlight long ago. Hikari would buy another if she could.

Something tells her the dreams would come anyway.

She couldn't go to the beach. She can't go smell the sea. They follow her. The whispers follow.

They speak of strength. They speak of eternity.

And her brother keeps staring and it won't stop, it won't ever stop.

She doesn't need him, she doesn't want to need him. She can't. Not anymore. They're too old, he's not near her, she doesn't need him.

But when the arm, slimy and cool and leaving streaks of red, touches hers, she does.

She can't escape without him.

He doesn't hear. He never hears. Or she never notices him. All that matters is that she wakes every night alone, and there's not enough light from the stars.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -(Frontier) Is his loyalty so misplaced?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, more little, short things! Another Flash Bingo prompt, this one being: 773 - character: Crusadermon. Please read and review, if you can!

10\. Decision

There is no host computer here.

There is no peace, there is war.

And in a war, a knight is to kill.

This they had known, had resonated through the hearts of his kind, of the Royal Knights.

What good were they, in times of peace?

LordKnightmon would rather be deemed turncoat than useless.

And when the humans and beasts no longer ravaged each other, he was useless. How that tore at his weapon, how that ravaged his heart.

So when Lucemon offered to bring the world to ruin, how could he refuse?

How could he, or any true knight, refuse another war?


	11. No Point in Debating It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, another prompt! This is for Flash Bingo number 545 - item: whistle. Please let me know what you think, if you feel so inclined.

11\. No Point in Debating It

The others are always so eager around the Trailmon, to talk to them.

Kouichi, perhaps because of how little time he spends on trains, just prefers to stay in them, and give them a respectful thank you when it's over.

He doesn't know if Kouji understands this, but he thinks the other tries. He seems to have to try a lot with family, so Kouichi avoids the whole issue as much as possible.

He does prefer the Trailmon over the trains back home. The ones in the city don't have a whistle. It's maybe more of a screech of the wheels and a stiffness from being stuck standing or sitting for too long in a place not cleaned enough. The Trailmon smell clean and are very quiet more often than not. Sometimes they chat with their passengers, but most of the time they just listen.

He guesses trains are usually that way though.

Oddly enough, it's Tomoki who understands the way Kouichi thinks, and doesn't show a hint of awkwardness about letting him borrow his old train set, or mimicking the noise when he plays with it. These wheels creak and squeak on their wooden tracks, but with them Kouichi imagines his brother and their friends on them, going to the Forest Terminal or the Dark Terminal, or any place, with the smoke puffing out like an old time adventure. He imagines them being lost and looking for a ride.

If he had been with them, it would have certainly been easier on him. Less dying, more... friendship. Family. Something.

He thinks. He kind of wishes that had been the case, but he never says it aloud. This wasn't that world, and for all he knew that world was worse.

That world could have a dead Kouji in it.

This though, Kouji understands.

"I'd rather have had you on the train too." His brother pauses. "Though I don't think I'd have listened to you then."

Kouichi laughed. "In your position, I wouldn't have either."

Yes, being on the Trailmon felt nice back then. But now, he can make his brother show him the stories, and he doesn't have to pay for it.

Also the fact that his brother can't use a whistle is quite entertaining.


	12. Unable to Please

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm determined to get these little Flash Bingo prompts as up todate as I can. Though that means I should be doing my non-flash more than this, but eh, I'm doing those too! This is for number 296 - prompt: prickly. I'm sorry, Tohma.

12\. Unable to Please

Tohma rarely dragged his feet anywhere.

Even young, he mastered good posture and rarely lowered his head.

Only around grandmother was their anything else.

Only there, he hunched, so she wouldn't see him cry, so he wouldn't have to see his father looking away from him.

He didn't need to be reminded. He was a half-life thing, only still around because Relena was ill, only still useful because he was looking for ways to save her until his fingers bled.

She would never hit him, hadn't touched him since looking at his eyes. He'd like to imagine she didn't want to get caught doing something wrong.

Did she hate him?

It would be so much easier if she did. He could hate her then, he could hate them all. He didn't want this money, this large mansion where if he hid himself far enough away they wouldn't find him until he was frozen.

It would be easier to hate his father if he didn't look at Relena like she was the world, if they were both looked at like they were the same.

They weren't.

She couldn't help what was wrong with her, and neither could he.

But still, it was different.

So he dragged his feet forward.


	13. Void

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evening!; This is for number 102 - prompt: empty shell. Thanks for reading!

13\. Void

Ken tried not to look back on the old days.

Back then, he had preferred the isolation, as there was nothing valuable in people. All of them just fawned and scraped and bowed over him.

Even his own parents.

_You like that I'm Osamu, now, don't you?_

He wished he had asked that. Maybe things would have been better.

Then again, it also could have been worse.

It wasn't like Ken was unhappy now.

The Kaiser wouldn't have admitted to being unhappy.

The Kaiser had had a purpose. Ken had needed to find one.

That wasn't bad.

Wormmon was enough of a reason to wake up in the morning.

"Ken-chan, you're going to be late."

Ken glanced at his watch and winced. "Ah... uh-oh, thanks Wormmon!"

"Un! Wait, wait, your shoulder, wait!"

Ken barely paused for Wormmon to leap into his arms before running out the door.

The Kaiser would not have run, the Kaiser would not have been late.

Ken wasn't following the Kaiser's path anymore. He just wanted to get to school and see his friends.

The Kaiser would never have admit to being lonely. Ken didn't have to. They all simply knew.


	14. Avoidance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, another Flash Bingo prompt! This is for number 002 - prompt: blush and for Digimon NEXT. I need to write an MC for this series at some point. Eventually I will. Anyway, please enjoy!

"You're okay , right?"

"Of course I am!"

Shou regarded him with a raised eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Yeah!" He rubbed his face as if that would make the blush go away. "Yeah, sure. Fine. Just."

"Never wanna talk about it again?"

Tsurugi glowered. "It's not like I hated it."

"I don't see you rushing to repeat the experience."

"Let the first one sink in, god damn!"

Shou laughed and Tsurugi felt his heart tremble as he fiddled with the one lock. It somehow would have been easier if the other three were still there. He unlocked the door and pretended his face wasn't akin to a finely cut tomato.

"See you tomorrow?"

Tsurugi glanced at him. Shou looked a little guilty. He smiled. "Yeah, course."

Shou relaxed. "Good. Say hi to Ami for me."

"She said for me to tell you to eat more."

Shou chuckled, and Tsurugi blushed, cursing himself on the inside. "I'll try my best, if you can brush your hair."

"Never. Gonna. Happen."


	15. Many Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This is for bingo number 248 - prompt: those who went before. Please let me know what you think!

The death was like sleeping. A prick to their hearts and a weary addition to their bones.

But their bones are disintegrating. And that would be painful if they could remember what pain was.

They do not remember dying, only the sleep and the separating.

They stir, once in a while. Sometimes, there is a spark, a spark like the angels who hold them and the angel who had fought them. Sometimes, underground, they hear him rage. They hear him cry.

In this state, they do not feel pity, nor remorse, or pleasure, or relief. They feel nothing of their own.

They feel nothing until one of their own is ripped to pieces.

Darkness is clawed open, rended and ripped and pulled. It is evil and it is a sad evil, born of a beast's unnecessary envy of comrades and love and the agony runs through them all.

Then, like a soothing balm, voices call them, arms open, and they are free to walk again.


	16. Sprouts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look, something fluffy! This is for number: 688 - prompt: "What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow/Out of this stony rubbish?" T.S. Elliot

This was one of her days off from school, and it was the time she let dirt get under her nails again. She dug her thumb into the tiny pot and spent a few minutes opening a small packet of seeds.

The silence was wonderful after the babble of the heated classroom, and she took a moment to breathe in the scent of the earth and pat the nearby soil.

Her mother had picked out these seeds. She said they would make a good day for a beginner. Sora only hoped she could believe her.

She spent a few minutes tracking down the watering can, and another few filling it. By the time she came back to her pots, the birds were chirping and perching on her windowsill. She couldn't help but smile, gesturing to the birdfeeder.

"Go over there. That's yours. Nice to see you though!"

They chirped and cheeped at her, which meant they had no idea and didn't care. Sora giggled. Piyomon would have known what that meant. As it was, she just went back to watering.

When she finally sat down after that, however, her Digivice began to beep.

She sighed.  _Speaking of Piyomon..._

Ah well, who needed to relax anyway?


	17. Voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I managed to write another one of these. Thanks for the fav MitzvahRose! This is for bingo number 276 - prompt: "Oh for a book and a shady nook…" John Wilson

Masaru was never much of a reader.

He mixed up the syllables all of the time, he couldn't sit still and do it himself a lot. He liked to play on the monkey bars and throw baseballs and shoot monsters in the arcade. Reading was too much patience in one sitting, to be honest.

But Chika liked it, and she was a  _baby_.

So. If she could like it, so could he. He just had to figure out how she did it.

The trouble was doing it when their parents weren't home, or at least weren't paying attention. They were  _always_ paying attention. It took all of his super sneaking skills (like the ninjas on TV!) to not slam the door.

His baby sister was drooling asleep in her crib when he got there. Darn it. That ruined the plan. He couldn't just wake her up. She'd start crying and throwing her toys and whatever it is babies did when they woke up. Then the parents would catch him and he'd never figure it out.

So he sat himself down in Mom's chair. Whoa. It was high up here! How did adults get so  _tall_? He needed to figure out how growing worked too.

Masaru thumbed the book in his lap. It was a school book. He knew it'd be boring. It usually was. But he always walked past the room and heard his mom reading to Chika. So maybe it was something in Mom's voice. Maybe if he said the words  _out loud,_ there would be a magic that made reading a lot more awesome than it felt like.

So he started at the beginning, because he barely remembered it. It was slow, and he thought his tongue was going to fall off, but he managed to read a couple of chapters before putting it down.

He almost shut the book, but he saw big green eyes staring at him.

Chika was still drooling, but there was a silly kinda grin on her face as she lay on her side.

"Again?" he said, and she gurgled.

Maybe that was a yes?


	18. Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for how quiet it's been this week. Things should be nice and busy from next week on! Today's number is: 510 - prompt: apologetic.

It's the last box of cans for the day.

It doesn't feel like enough.

He stocks them in the pantry, marks them on the stock sheet. Even in the dim light, he can see the rows upon rows of cans, of beauty supplies, all of the necessities everywhere. There will be plenty for the bags he gives away tomorrow.

He looks and he looks and he sighs. It's not this place. He knows it's not.

"Yuu."

He jumps. His blond hair frizzes up and he rushes to calm it as he turns.

Taiki touches his shoulder. "Nene called. Dinner's soon." Tiny rivulets of sweat stick to his neck. He must have run here from his work at the school, but he doesn't sound out of breath.

Yuu eases down. It is a little painful. He can't help himself. "Thanks, Taiki-san."

"I'll walk you back."

His house is in the opposite direction. The sun is setting.

Yuu thanks him, and he chokes on it a little. He doesn't mean to. He's getting better.

Taiki never asks, and really, he should. He should worry, but he doesn't. Somehow, that feeling, that lack of being enough goes away.

Maybe he is doing enough.


	19. Intelligent Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry for the late post. Anyway, this is for prompt 187 - character: Neemon, Enjoy!

"And then he punched him into a tree!"

Neemon's wild gestures wouldn't make sense to anyone but children, but that was better than Bokomon, whose words barely made sense over half the time.

They couldn't help it. Neemon was a visual person, despite having trouble seeing anything right in front of his nose, and Bokomon just couldn't see anything that wasn't right in front of his nose.

Together, they were the storytellers of the Legendary Warriors.

"Bakamon! Hurry up, it's getting dark!"

"Bye bye!"

Day in and day out, Naemon acted out the battles and let Bokomon drone on for the kiddies. He always asked if their friends could hear them. Bokomon said that was stupid. If they could hear, the Digital World would be in trouble, obviously.

That wasn't very fun.

He would just pretend they could hear him anyway.


	20. That Honest Living

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm back! Getting so close to caught up, it's ridiculous. Anyway, this is for number 514 - place: Digitamamon's Restaurant

"What would you like to drink?"

"Ah, coffee please."

Jyou adjusts his collar and moves his homework out of the way. "Haven't seen you here before," says the Bakumon, who is grinning over the rim of his serving platter. "The boss sure jumped up quick when you popped in though. You want a meal?"

Jyou squirms for a moment. He wasn't exactly  _trying_ to offend the Digitamamon, but he didn't really enjoy talking with him either. That whole "order the kid to be strangled to death" part leaves a bitter taste in anyone's mouth. "One nikuman please."

The Bakumon nods and floats away with a snicker. He has to wonder where Digitamamon finds his help these days. Probably not with the Vegiemon at the very least.

He sips his coffee and scribbles on his paper.

It's quiet now, not the quiet of abandoned buildings and ignored windows covered in sickening grime, but a peaceful sort with buzzing outside and the gentle clanging of dishes in the sink and he feels himself relax back in his chair.

The food arrives and Jyou smiles. He's not hungry, of course. He ate before he came. The door eventually clangs with the arrival of Gomamon.

"Jyou! Is that for me?"

He pushes the meat bun over. "All yours."

Gomamon cheers and Jyou waits for the hello that won't come because it's hung in the air. He laughs and goes back to his homework.

He could make a habit of this, now that he isn't going to be killed here.


	21. Chores

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Another prompt! This is for the number 064 - prompt: sort. Please enjoy the fluff!

"Score!"

Ai groaned as quietly as possible.  _I won't hit him, Impmon, I promise._

It was tempting though. Makoto wasn't good at folding clothes much yet. He was better at moving them and putting them on clothespins. But he got his dirty clothes  _everywhere_.

He threw another one and shouted, excited. "Sis, want me to throw yours?"

"No!" she says with a sigh. "You're missing the basket."

"They're second chances," he tells her with a dismissive wave of his hand. Ai puts her hands on her hips and shakes her head, beginning to drag the basket of clean clothes onto her lower bed. Makoto went back to cleaning his side of the room.

The wind blew outside the window and shook their sheets. Ai wiped sweat from her forehead and continued to work.

"Hey sis?"

"Yeah?" She tucked in a blanket corner.

Makoto fell quiet for a moment, and Ai mentally started to count. He'd find what he wanted to say eventually. "Do you think… Impmon will recognize us?"

"When he comes back?"

Which he would do. Someday.

"Yeah."

Ai thought about it, then smiled to herself. "I think so."

Makoto tossed another ball of laundry. "He'd better. I want him to know what a great shot I am!"

Ai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, not with a basketball."

Makoto turned on her, big eyes narrowed with playful anger. "Say that again."

"You can't shoot a basketball!" she crowed and that's when he threw his clothes at her. The fight was on then.

Their room ended up dirty, but they laughed through the entire three hours of cleaning.


	22. Wraith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for last week's quiet. I watched a playthrough of the Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth game. That game is awesome. I had a lot of fun with it. And, thankfully, it helped me with this prompt. So! Here we are! This is for number 640 - prompt: "He halted in the wind, and - what was that/Far in the maples, pale, but not a ghost?" Robert Frost

It was that damn late night chat. He's sure of it. Arata rubbed stars from his eyes and wished he was allowed to drink coffee

The sleep he snatched didn't come until three in the morning. Five hours. He was somewhat grateful it was summer. No matter. He had taken a few all-nighters before.

Still.

He had dreamed stuff worthy of that show Parasyte or whatever the hell. Last tine he was tricked into an anime without bothering to look it up first. He was an idiot sometimes.

Not as often as Akino, or whatever her name actually was. Why would you go after a hacker? Common sense told you not to. She had to do the stupid thing, didn't she?

..Why did that otaku want to go?

Boredom, probably.

A hand closed around his heart. He ignored it.

Maybe he would see that ghost everybody talked about.

For some reason, there was a lump in his throat. Arata swallowed it, and went to wash his face. It would be all right. It had to be. It's not like he was doing anything bad, just everyone else. He had learned his lesson.


	23. Decomposition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For flash bingo prompt 836 - character: Mummymon

It's only a few minutes.

That's all it takes for his darling, his love, to die, to scream, to suffer.

Only minutes, and she is crumpled on the ground, begging for death.

They have committed evil, she told him. Taking the dark towers, harming the children. It is one of the worst evils imaginable: the use of children.

They are the best of gods that they can possibly become.

They were gods.

Now they are ants, reduced to whimpering, reduced to pain.

His love is already dead, dead to who was meant to be their master.

Even their master is dead.

That means he is alone.

He's going to die. He's going to die to this… to this…

He cannot. Not when Arukenimon suffered for this. Not before trying for her. He wouldn't bow.

He ignored the tears in his rotting eyes and raised his gun.

The monster laughs. How dare he laugh at a god? How dare he laugh at evil? The laser does nothing, but it will. It will bury him. It will make him regret.

Watch me, love, watch me. Watch me burn.

The last thing he sees is red.


	24. From My Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 384 -prompt: "This isn't just about you. It's about what's best for all of us." So, I has about half of these done, ones that I've found anyway.

Masaru pitied Kurata.

As much as he bothered to pity people at any rate. He had gotten too many hits to the head over the years to spare room for pity, even for himself.

The man was terrified. Insane. Maybe he had had a right to be. His body was weak, he was timid.

Didn't mean everyone else had to be dragged into it though.

Shouldn't Yggdrasill know that? Did he even care?

Would destroying the human world really protect the digimon?

His dad had told him once that gods were supposed to do what was best for everybody, like people on tv who talked about laws. They couldn't think of things just as what was best from their way, but from the way people saw it below.

Kurata had only thought of himself. Most humans only thought of themselves.

But that didn't make Yggdrasil's ideas right. Course it didn't.

God this was too philosophical for him.

What was dad  _thinking_?

He sounded just like Kurata, just like that crazy who thought he knew the world so long as he ruled it. He thought he knew best and Masaru knew idiots that knew the best for everyone just weren't real. Leaders didn't work like that. They were a lot more humble.

So he was out, and he knew it, but that was fine. Masaru didn't want to lead. He wanted to beat up the enemy. He was good at that. He was proud of that. He knew that Yggdrasil wouldn't get it, and neither would Kurata.

If they were the same, then why was it that one was supposed to be  _better_?

He didn't get these guys.


	25. Walk That Open Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got throught this prompt. Been on a gameverse kick lately! I blame Decode. And Mirei, mostly Mirei. She's fun... Anyway here's for 369 -prompt; till the end of time. We're a quarter of the way there! Spoilers for Decode!

When the light has faded, and even the sun has gone from the sky, Mirei heads back into File City. She is tired, of course. It's hard to say goodbye. It's hard to want to.

However, she's not a part of their world for a reason. Even thinking of the pain makes her cringe.

Jijimon nods at her as she strides past. It's not the best of farewells, but they only know each other vaguely and it's hard to speak after saving the world.

She tries not to sigh. She should have know this was coming. It would have been easier if she hadn't been attached. If they hadn't made her smile. If her loneliness hadn't been so pronounced.

It wouldn't have been as interesting, however. It would have been easy to forget.

She wraps her arms around her laptop. LadyDevimon's wings brush her hair in their usual tender fashion, avoiding scratching her with her sharp nails. Angewomon dances from the side, smiling in that nearly coy way that promises comforting hugs and herbal tea. She clicks her tongue. They worry too much. Not that she blames them. Human in form means human in durability some of the time. Not that she can't get out of scrapes. It's still an inconvenience. They worry about her mentally, which again, she can't blame them for either.

Her heart sinks a little, hearing no accompanying footsteps as she gets closer, just the sound of softly gliding wings. Just the sound of the exited chatter from the buzzing metropolis.

She was going to have to get used to that again… even though it was the last thing she wanted to think about.

Well, at least for a while, her dreams would be full of happy things, of people. Perhaps, someday, they would return to her. Maybe she could even visit them.

As long as fate had that in store.

The thought was enough to make her smile.


	26. Spycasting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \- it's the only time they get away with looking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! It's my birthday! You know what that means, don't you? Inbox flooding, huzzah! XD It will probably be either really low or really high next week. I have no idea. Anyway, here is for 847 - character: Monitormon.

Nene is not a modest girl.

For the little Monitamons, this fact is well-known and documented. They also find it incredibly have nothing against human anatomy, at least none that they can think of, but it's terribly inconvenient. Their charge dresses slowly, always humming, always sharp edges and careful movements. They themselves are young, weak. She's too slow for their liking, for their paranoia. This isn't what they're good at, not yet. Their curiosity gets the better of them. Every noise makes their heads swivel, their images blur. Then they look away.

To be honest, no noise gives the same feeling that hers do. It's not comforting.

Nene pats their heads when one of them falls, careful to avoid the watchful eyes of the black knight, the mocking knight.

The Monitamons would love to kill him for her.

They are weak, but they notice. They notice the shame he makes her feel, the way her eyes avert. They note the tenseness in the way her teeth grit, and the violet lies everywhere. He causes her to look away from herself, to hide her self-love. She is no less modest, but he shames her about it just by existing.

They would kill him if they were stronger. He knows it too. So he smiles behind his mask, and, of course, nothing is wrong. Not yet. He thinks he will always be triumphant.

Someday, they'll make him pay.

Someday, they'll make him see.

They won't look away then.


	27. Peacetime

It feels strange.

They both think so, but neither says it aloud.

It feels strange not to hear large ears splashing the water, the sound of a small body being tickled by the fish. It's strange for their laughter to echo over the water and have nothing answer back.

The Tamers, the adventurers, had gone back. And yet here were the survivors.

Minami wonders if Labramon would have swam with her.

Kai wonders if his grandfather had even noticed the guests were gone.

They swim, languid, Kai smiling at the fish he might catch later. Mei drifts, watching the path of the sun.

"You remembered sunscreen, right?"

"Yep!"

They're friends, united by facing a storm and not facing it. On surviving it. It's scary still, always has been.

They drift.

"Do you think Mei will come back?"

"I dunno."

They don't know. Humans can't come back. Can Digimon?

Takato hadn't said. None of them had. So the answer was likely no. Still, while floating in the sea, it was easy to hope that maybe that wouldn't be the case.

It feels strange.

Neither of them know why.

Still, they wish the adventure had lasted a little bit longer.


	28. Empty Hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Flash Bingo number 006 - prompt: watch.

He awoke with a flame in his gut.

He awoke with the empty rage of a fallen heart.

It felt…  _good._

It felt like waking from a long rest with breakfast already in your stomach. How often did people have that experience?

He was still sealed of course. Sealed by his own healing pods, how appropriate. Still sealed by the annoying buzz of a voice. Still, he didn't have to lift a finger to get what he wanted and that really was enough for him. He could destroy the world right here, and it would be just. Too. Easy.

So that was exactly what he was going to do.

The ground began to crack, the seal began to break.

For he was empty-hearted. He was only a reflection of the mirror. He was only that boy's controlled heart given form.

Then a light pierced the empty world.

No.

There was no need for the light. He did not need another heart.

Then the seal broke. He was not freed. The light stabbed him, over and over, warming his cold feathered hands, warming him, damn the light. The cold was where he had been, where he belonged.

He was going to kill whoever this was and go back to what he wanted to do.

If this was really what he wanted.


	29. Specks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So... this one was weird. This is my fill for my first claim of 898 - pairing: Apollomon/Apollomon Whispered.

If Apollomon loved anything, it was music.

Whispered knows this. Whenever Apollomon plays is the only time he never interrupts the other's thoughts, much to the sun god's confusion. He tries to understand what about it was so significant to him. He never can.

"You would understand if you could play," Apollomon says as he runs their fingers over the lyre strings.

But  _he_  is the one who can play.

Whispered does not understand the meaning behind being able to play. Though it does feel different to listen, it seems, rather than feel it playing through his own hands. It's such a different sensation to be able to see it.

The only way to see Apollomon is through a mirror, and even then. It is not enough. He doesn't do it enough

He does not know the sensation of holding another without cursing them. If it was Apollomon, though, he could.

But they were one. They could not be apart.

Was that what love truly was?

If it was, that was sorrowful. To him, true love would be to understand what it was his half found in music. All Whispered has found is him.


	30. Splinters

They are separated only once. And Whispered has to kill him.

Well, it's not has to. Neither of them have to do this. But Whispered wants to kill, wants to battle, wants to rip and shred and hurt. These are things he can do.

And Apollomon is stopping him. Why. Why?

This is a war, these things are natural. Why do you resist, Apollomon? Why do you hurt yourself amidst all of this beauty? All of this gory, glorious destruction.

At last we are apart, at last I can hold you. Once this war ends. Then, then, we will be truly complete. You will be mine as you should be.

Why must we fight? Why must you fight me? Don't you understand, this brokenness is wonderful? It is completion. It is perfection. Why do you look at me with such heartbreak? Don't you understand? I adore you. You are all I am. You are all I could be. Why are you trying to be otherwise?

No. Don't you do this! Don't you love me? Don't do this!

How dare you? How dare that human's heart take you away from me! How can you do this?

_Monster!_

You lied to me! You accepted me and you lied!

How could you? Why?

Why…

This is war… but why…?


	31. What You Are Not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For 356 - prompt: "I knew you wouldn't be able to see it through."

Dead.

Yuu is sure of it. His Damemon is disappearing behind him in sparks of yellow and white.

And he's next, isn't he?

There's no stereotypical dragging of a weapon on the ground to dull the blade. There is no laughter, no grinding footsteps. There are no reasons for this at all. This is just happening. This is just the way things worked out. Something changed in the older boy. The game isn't fun anymore.

But it never was a game.

Dodge, dance, avoid.

He had realized that. But still.

Spiral, twist, stab.

Couldn't it have been treated like one?

_Pain._

It hurts. The swipe is too fast.

"Not as fun anymore, is it?"

Taiki's voice is grim, tired. There's an odd sort of regal feeling to how he stands. "You're a criminal, I can't absolve you of your crime."

"I know." It's a timid response, and the words don't come out anyway.

The swords swings, and Yuu wakes in his bed. Everything is normal. It was just a nightmare.

Right?


	32. Nerves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 460 - prompt: cold feet

Jou doesn't leave his room after classes anymore. He sits in his room, and does his homework. He doesn't think of the weird things happening, even though they creep into and through his mind. He focuses on his tests.

Tests are his hero business now. He kind of hates it, even though he accepts it.

His father won't admit that he is tired. His mother won't admit that she is tired of worrying about them. None of them will admit anything, not even him.

He envies his brothers. There are no fears of breaking fragile peace with them. They are only home to sleep and eat, and rarely that anymore. They are finding girlfriends that they actually have time for.

He scratches at the paper again. His fingers shake, and he looks at the news. He isn't needed. He knows that. Gomamon wasn't even there. They didn't need him there. They needed him here, in school, being normal, just like he needed to be.

If only it was working. If only he was getting better. If only…

_Knock knock._

The little seal squirms onto his window sill, whining in playful irritation. Jou doesn't mean to cry but he does. He holds his Gomamon and cries long and hard and hates himself.

Except he doesn't, because Gomamon doesn't hate him. He accepts everything about Jou.

Now if only he could relax and do the same.


	33. Filthy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Flash Bingo prompt: 054 - prompt: beauty is only skin deep

There's so much blood.

Digimon don't bleed so she's never seen this before. But because they (the human) know what it is, she knows now. It is everywhere. The gloves they wore are ruined. It's all seeping into her fingernails. The man's face, the picture of horror in death. The picture of destruction.

This is humanity at its core, is it not? This is why the world is dying. This is why, this is why, ah the _smell_. It's putrid even to her new nose and that's rather funny actually.

Digimon leave nothing behind. Of course humans cause _waste_. Why wouldn't they? Why won't their buildings, their lives, disappear into the air to strengthen the new life that is to come?

Wasteful, selfish greedy bastards. They were, are, a disease.

She had killed one. One who had caused so much. One who had caused this, if indirectly. Now the rest. The rest.

All of them. Even the small ones.

She would be able to do it. With this woman's avarice.

After all, why stop with just one sin, when you were already doomed?


	34. It Lasts

He patted the dirt mound with his foot, squinted at it one more time, and then left his hut.

With rationing and bombing, he was going to have to be careful. Everyone needed food, not just him. And his job was to take care of them. He wasn't good at that whole physical healing stuff. He could get people food, sing them some songs, and bash people in the face.

Of course, he was a great man, so he wanted to be more than that. He had to get tougher, faster, stronger.

But for now, his kingdom was the Village of Smiles, so he had to keep track of it. Even if that meant hiding extra things that everyone would miss. Even if meant going a little hungry for a few days until they found more food.

If only there was someone else with him, a loyal friend, or something. One he could teach how to fight, like Lilymon, or to cover others when he wasn't there. Or even a guy to be smarter than him and tell him what to hit and what to talk to. Shoutmon knew he wasn't that smart. He didn't have time to be. He wasn't King yet! He could learn!

Until then, he chewed a spare piece of Diginoir. It would last through anything, even if he didn't come back.

But he would. Someone had to give the kids some hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For my first Flash Bingo fill of 605 - item: Digibytes


	35. For Old Times' Sake

His favorite day to make DigiNoir is when his friend is stressed. When Shoutmon is pacing about the room, microphone nowhere in sight, no song on his lips. Those are the days that Shoutmon is always craving the snack, at least when he's not thinking about it. It's a good stress reliever.

That was the thing no one told you about usurping a powerful dynasty, the stress.

And for a long time, Bagramon and his had ruled the country, the zones. It had been a bad rule of course, but what could you do? It was a stressful job.

Morals were possibly the only reason Ballistamon didn't offer Shoutmon the possibility of eradicating things. Also, it wouldn't change the stress. Living creatures were too unpredictable, at best.

That was what he loved about them.

He made the snack and shook his head a little. He could not eat, so he didn't understand where the enjoyment came from. But his best friend liked it even when it went stale, and the children liked it.

So he perfected his recipe, and worked hard. If anything, the nostalgia would make him feel better.


	36. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're your own worst enemy sometimes. [Tamers]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Digimon Flash Bingo 295 - prompt: abuse Warning for PTSD

They don't have screaming matches.

Juri doesn't yell at the stepmom -that will never be her mom, she's seen the body- but she tends to ignore her, smile and go out when she probably shouldn't. When there are explosions blocks away she thinks nothing of them.

She knows the woman is worried, but she figures, she's more worried about the baby, the baby brother who steals her things if they're low enough and rips up her homework all the time and is supposed to be forgiven because he's just a toddler. He drools on her puppet and it makes her sick to wash it but she has to.

There is no shouting in this house. Her father never shouts. He's cold and awkward and never knows how to wash things now that she's older and he does his best but it's clear he's ready to start anew and she isn't..

None of them really care, she thinks. So she pretends not to even though they know she does. She knows she does.

No wonder Leomon makes her so happy and so broken so fast.


	37. Game Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Digimon Flash Bingo 904 - character: Puppetmon

Pinocchimon grins and cocks his hammer, not even having to look.

_Ready… Aim… Fire!_

Bullets fly and Bagra punks fly with them until they explode. Hah! Serves them right! See if they take his home again!

He hefted his hammer and swung to crack the train tracks.

Never again. They wanted to get him, they'd have to do better than this! Only way they'd get him was if he died. No loyal servant outta him! Not even his friends would get him. Not even they'd get… him…

He snorted to himself and limped back into his home. What friends? Traitors, really. They'd ratted him out more than not and those that didn't were just afraid. He didn't need cowards either!

He wasn't lonely! Did his face say that? Did this grin of metal teeth say anything but power? He didn't think so!

He put his hammer away and tried to sleep, tried to grin with his eyes closed.

Both were a long time in coming.


	38. Collect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -Eventually, he would get his due. (Ba'almon)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 003 - prompt: capital

There's a storm-crack and the data bursts. All Ba'almon thinks of is broken visors, blood data processing over the stone floors, staining the white pink.

He thinks of bits, gold and silver and bronze, like a human fairy tale, except common. His gun steady in his hand.

He had never felt without it, he realizes now, not in the same way, not with the same love and heart and necessity. He had never loved the Goddess as much as his brethren, or even his brethren, if he stopped to think about it.

Perhaps that was why she had ignored him for so long. Perhaps that was why she always would.

He was fine with that. It was a price to pay for his mistakes. It was a price to pay for becoming strong.

And now he needed to get his own money in return.

Ba'almon turned in the sand, and vanished. Back to the Bagra Army.


	39. Pick Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Digimon Flash Bingo: 624 - prompt: hey there, gorgeous

Mimi stops wearing skirts out for a few years. It gets too hard to kick.

Not that she gets stopped much, mind you. People in America are more touchy-feely, sure, more prone towards word play and touches and marks that sometimes stay where everyone can see.

Mimi is a lot of things but she is not one to wear her people like jewelry. She refuses. It is forbidden .

So she learns to punch and kick from the best. She learns to tackle and throw and spin. She learns to end things quickly. There's no point in dragging any thing out, in wasting time. She is faster n her feet than she ever was at the age of ten.

She has learned. So many would not have died if she had acted sooner and settled her heart. She hadn't been ready. She was now.

So she punches the man with a good right hook and doesn't miss.

She hopes Palmon would be proud.


	40. Trial and Error

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Digimon Flash Bingo prompt 730 - item: Dark Spiral

The Spiral is a blessing in that moments pass, one to the next, and he isn't aware of them. He'd probably hate himself if he remembered.

There's pain, of course. But those dark things are always painful, even though he knows darkness is supposed to be a break. But otherwise, he remembers very little.

Maybe a voice or two shakes him up a bit. They nag and they nag and SOMETIMES he remembers them. Usually he doesn't. Not until the light comes.

He's starting not to trust the light. It's always fooling him. But he has to trust it, because that's where the voices are.

He likes one of those voices in particular. It makes the pain go away a little.

He wishes he knew who it was.


	41. The Eyeless

It's not beautiful.

That's a cost effective measure that he doesn't really think about. He doesn't need aesthetics to get the job done. He needs function and prowess and strength. The rest can be dealt with at a later time. He needs destruction. That is what the Digimon wish of them. That is what humanity needs. Otherwise they will keep falling to that other side and dying. Is that not enough reason to hurry?

Well the other reason is possibly being caught, but there's no real concern for that, is there?

If he's caught, he can just point out the logical fallacy of it all. Not like they don't destroy things to eat and live anyway. To pretend like that's impossible is honestly just hypocritical. They're the ones who just keep turning them to eggs. He's the one who is taking it a step further and what could possibly be the matter with that? Nothing. Nothing at all.

Besides, once the project is finished, it will be Digimon killing Digimon. Just as it had been at that time. Nothing will be out of place. Isn't this how gods handle things?


	42. On the Mouth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Flash prompt 004 - genre: romance and because people liked it!

Masaru doesn't do things by halves.

When he punches, he breaks whatever he means to hit. When he jumps, it sends him valuting over mountains. So it makes sense that when he kisses, he gives everything he's got. Himari finds it hilarious. Not just because of how earnest it is, but of how _bad_ he is.

The first couple of times, they missed. They both missed. Now, she's kind of gotten it down and he's still fumbling with the not too much strength part. He's still fumbling with the holding hands and not being embarrassed because he's getting looked at.

He's still embarrassed that he can't do the things the stories say you can.

Himari always smiles it off because maybe it only matters so much in the end. Maybe her leading the kisses in private or getting the door because he forgets is profoundly insignificant in the long run. She doubts it's as important as the way he cradles her when she remembers Rikka's inconsolable wailing or how he's learned to make food from salt and stale pancake mix and occasionally a couple of eggs. But he knows that what people see is important too, even if he hates it.

Himari doesn't really care yet.

She wishes he could kiss like his face wasn't made to bruise everything but she doesn't care.

They can do more. They can fall for each other further, learn each other in each nook and cranny. But he's not there yet. Neither is she.

What's the darn rush?


	43. Marker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Digimon Flash Bingo 061 - prompt: autumn

There was a grave for her pet cat.

It had been hit by a car and died instantly. Right in front of her baby cousin. She'd been at school and cried for hours afterwards. Her cousin had forgotten it within a month.

She had made a tiny grave for it, covered in flowers and wished she had been there. Maybe it was to say goodbye or something. Maybe so she even understood.

Then Megadramon died.

There was no grave.

Digimon didn't get graves. Daigo's partner had told her that. They just returned to being eggs.

But there was no egg either. There was nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.

And she can't make one. So she stood there, stuck at this point with empty hands.

It was all her fault, wasn't it?

The leaves crunched under her heels.


	44. A Lot of Sound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Digimon Flash 132 - prompt: two left feet

Yuu counted steady beats of three for him over and over and watched him trip and stumble with his characteristic lack of g race. How he survived the Digimon Hunt every day eluded Yuu even now.

He stopped counting and clapped his hands. "You're going to twist your ankle if you step like that again."

Tagiru let out a puff of air, too exhausted to flare up like usual. "When am I even gonna need to know how to dance anyway?"

"If you ever go anywhere aside from an arcade you should at least not trip over yourself," Yuu said, pausing the music.

Tagiru straightened up. "But clubs are fast, Yuu. This is slow."

Yuu nodded. All right he'd give him that. But. "That would be because if I put you in like: a faster song first off, you would definitely hurt yourself. Can't have that. Your mom would yell at you or me or both."

"Probably me," Tagiru said with a grumble. "Though you for expecting me to go above and beyond."

"You think?" Yuu didn't seem bothered by this. "But imagine her and your dad's face if you come back and you can dance."

For a moment Tagiru did think about it and he swelled up with pride. "Aw that would show dad. He can't dance worth a crap." At Yuu's raised eyebrow, he explained. "My parents are mush in a box."

"Ah." Yuu had no idea what that was like. Not that he minded.

Tagiru gulped down a fourth of a water bottle. "Yeah. IT's great! Sometimes."

"Just like you're great. Sometimes?" Yuu offered.

Tagiru jumped him and got a playful elbow to the stomach. "If you have energy to jump me, you have energy to practice. Now, come on."

"Mizuki is not gonna expect me to dance," Tagiru whined, rubbing his stomach.

Yuu gave him a simple raised eyebrow. "You had better hope not."


	45. Test of Stamina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 45 - She will endure this. She must. (Miyako)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Digimon Flash Bingo 686 - prompt: "My body is a pebble to them, they tend it as water/ Tends to the pebbles it must run over" Sylvia Plath

All she can hear is the overlapping voices ringing in her ears.

_Top Gun!_

There was no scream. Just silence. Just an awful, deadly silence.

"We had to do it," they say.

They had to kill her. They had to kill a digimon for threatening some innocent human. They had to kill someone-

"Miyako-san."

She snaps her head over. Hikari is standing there, watching her. There's pity in her eyes. She had known. She had always known.

Anger, pain, revulsion, fear-

What if they hadn't done it?

Silphymon shrinks down and Hawkmon approaches her on slow talons His wings are held up in defense.

She runs to him and starts to cry. Later. She'll be strong later. Now she needs to cry. Now she needs to feel pain. Because this was her fault. This was their fault.

Why did they have to do this?


	46. Limitations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Digimon Flash Bingo 056 - prompt: the revelation

Hajime is the beginning of the end.

It's buried in him, Rei realizes now. The secrets of the universe are buried in his little brother's brain. And it's all his fault the never ending serpent has one. It's all his fault so he has to act that way and keep the weaklings apart from the tough guys. From him. He doesn't need anyone else's body on his conscience.

Even if that means making himself bear their defeated faces.

He's smart. He knows how smart he is. It's unbearable, unusual sometimes. And yet. And yet.

He's too smart to realize the game hasn't changed and that the player is still bound to the rules that he doesn't know.

Rei's too young to realize this is exactly what Leviathan picked him for.

Haru is also too young. And it shames him to know that's why it matters to him.


	47. Compliance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Digimon Flash Bingo 191 - prompt: shame

It's not their fault.

It's not their fault.

People were hurt. The Digimon destroyed their property.

It's not their fault. They were trying to help. They were trying to save everyone. It's not their fault. It wasn't like they instigated it. It wasn't like they wanted it. So why?

_Because it still happened, didn't it?_

Because like it or not, they assisted in it. They played a violent part in the end. It was frustrating. But it was right. Why was it wrong? They needed to fight back. But if they did… someone might die. Or they'd lse their friends for good. Neither ould happen. There had to be another solution.

He didn't want to find it. He just wanted them all to stop. But he couldn't blame them. He didn't agree with them. He couldn't. That would be his friends he was dooming. No, it wasn't them. It wasn't just them.

But still.


	48. your requiem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Digimon Flash 559 - item: harmonica

Music was always his way of communicating, if you went by anything Gabumon said. He was usually right. It was a way of expression. Guitar, drums, piano, all of it reminded Yamato on how breathing worked, how feelings began and people made sense.

Gabumon also liked it. He didn't like Yamato's cooking, or his navel gazing, or the way his eyebrows would knit together when he was hiding something. But Gabumon loved Yamato's music. The rest he just accepted.

Yamato didn't know how to show this to him, show gratitude and pride that there was something in him that was loved without hesitation, without fight or bite. So he just sometimes, would pick up his harmonica and try a new tune. It was the only way he could explain things and yet he really didn't explain anything come to think of it. But with music, he tried.

With Gabumon, he had tried.

And now, Gabumon was gone. But he kept playing on and on, for an empty room.


	49. Colorful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Digimon Flash Bingo 921 - pairing: Taiki/Akari

"You really almost got a concussion."

"Well, you could have gotten one."

She didn't have to see his face through the blurry glass shower door to know he was pouting. She smiled to herself. "You need your brain too you know."

Taiki made an exasperated noise. "I would have been fine. My hair would have blocked it."

Akari didn't even want to get into the logistics of that response. "Don't be such a goof," she finally said. "You're lucky you remembered to bring spare clothes this time."

"Mm-hm." He sighed. "Sorry, Akari."

Akari tried not to laugh. "It's okay, we got the walls done. We can do some more later."

"Mm." He paused as he capped another bottle. "Akari?"

"Yeah?"

His voice took on a soft, wistful lilt. "It's our house. We did it."

Akari smiled at the ring on her finger. "We did."


End file.
